Edmonton Housing prices in first quarter rise in active local market

Edmonton, April 2, 2014: The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton reports that the housing market in the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA)1 is poised for a very active spring sales period. Sales of all types of residential properties in the first quarter in the Edmonton CMA were up 5.8% as compared to the same period in 2013. Single family detached (SFD) sales were up 5.1% while condo sales rose a staggering 11.0% in the first quarter.

“We expect that sales will increase from month-to-month as we approach the second quarter,” said President Greg Steele. “But this year-over-year increase is an indicator of the high demand for housing in this market. Price rises will follow the demand and we can expect active competition for desirable properties.”

There were 3,679 all-residential sales from January to March 2014 compared to 3,478 sales in 2013. SFD sales rose from 2,099 to 2,206 while condo sales in the first quarter jumped from 996 to 1,106. Listings also rose to fill the demand. There were 6,324 residential properties listed so far this year compared to 6,086 last year; an increase of 3.9%. Listings of SFDs rose 5.5% Y/Y while condo listings dipped by half of one percent. The overall sales-to-listing ratio in the first quarter was 58% compared to 57% last year.

Despite the increase in Y/Y listings the available inventory at the end of March was down 6.9% at 4,413 residential properties as compared to March 2013. The turn-around time on sales reflected the busy marketplace with average days-on-market in March at 44 days; down from 51 in March 2013.

“Strong sales indicate consumer confidence in the Edmonton marketplace,” said Steele. “The high condo sales and low condo listings indicate the demand for lower priced properties and first time buyers are choosing condos as an option to lower-priced SFDs which are in high demand and short supply.” He pointed out that REALTOR® figures do not include the sale of many new homes and condos which are sold directly by builders and not through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®).

Overall, month-over-month average sale prices were stable. The all-residential price moved down less than half of one percent from $363,281 to $361,870. SFD average prices were also down fractionally from $433,205 to $432,458 and condos saw price increases of 3.6% from $238,376 to $247,005 on average. Duplex/row house prices were down from $338,024 in February to $331,038 in March.

REALTORS® have two days to report the sale of a property and end-of-month sales figures may not include sales in the month which were not yet reported. As a result the sales figures are adjusted to account for the late reported sales. There were 1,678 adjusted sales (1,554 reported) of residential properties in March compared to 1,224 (actual) sales in February. This is an increase in activity of 37%. Single family sales are adjusted to 990 (917 reported) and adjusted condo sales were 512 (474 reported).

Total residential sales volume for the first quarter of 2014 is $1,322,289,827. Total sales through the MLS® (including rural and commercials sales) were $1.7 billion so far this year compared to $1.6 billion in 2013.

Source: Realtors Association of Edmonton

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